Astros finalize deal with 1st-round pick Beer

HOUSTON -- On Wednesday, the Astros announced the signing of first-round pick Seth Beer, an outfielder from Clemson taken with the 28th overall pick in last week's MLB Draft.

Beer will report to short-season Class A Tri-City on Thursday, and he is expected to make his professional debut during the ValleyCats' first few games, Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias said. Tri-City's season begins Friday.

HOUSTON -- On Wednesday, the Astros announced the signing of first-round pick Seth Beer, an outfielder from Clemson taken with the 28th overall pick in last week's MLB Draft.

Beer will report to short-season Class A Tri-City on Thursday, and he is expected to make his professional debut during the ValleyCats' first few games, Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias said. Tri-City's season begins Friday.

"I'm super excited," Beer said Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. "I want to go out and play. I want to do whatever I can for the organization. I'm so glad they've given me this opportunity, and I'm just going to do whatever I can to help our organization."

A polished left-handed hitter with a controlled swing, Beer hit .301 with 22 homers, 54 RBIs and a .456 on-base percentage in his junior year at Clemson. He walked 54 times and struck out just 36 times, showing remarkable plate discipline. In his career at Clemson, he drew 180 walks and struck out 98 times in 188 games.

"Every time I try to hit a home run, it usually never works out," Beer said. "I'm always just trying to do damage with pitches that I can handle and not try to swing out of the zone or be too aggressive."

The slot value for the No. 28 overall pick is $2,339,400. Beer signed for $2.25 million, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis.

Beer burst onto the scene as a freshman at Clemson in 2016, when he hit .369 with 18 homers, 13 doubles, 70 RBIs, 57 runs, 62 walks, 15 hit by pitches, a .535 on-base percentage and a .700 slugging percentage in 62 games. He became the first freshman to win the Dick Howser Trophy presented to the national player of the year.

"We feel good about where we're at with our signings," Elias said. "It's a bit of a process. It can take some time. There's logistics involved, but we're well on pace. We've got several of our top 10 picks signed. We're going to have a lot of draftees out playing with the affiliates this coming week, so we feel really good about where we're at."